Safe Sanctuaries

Kentucky Annual Conference

Why Safe Sanctuaries?

• Protect our children

• Protect our volunteers

• Protect our assets

Scripture

• “Whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me,” Jesus said (Luke 18:5

• “Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord” Luke 2:22

Baptismal Covenant

• Members of the household of faith, I commend to your love care these children (persons), whom we this day recognize as members of the family of God…

Baptismal Covenant

• (Our Response – Read Together)With God’s help we will so order our lives after the

example of Christ, that these children surrounded by steadfast love, may be established in the faith, and confirmed and strengthened in the way that leads to life eternal.

The United Methodist Book of Worship, pages 104-105

• 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused by the time they are 18.

• 90% of sexual assaults are committed against someone the perpetrator knows.

• The majority of child sexual abuse victims will be abused by family members or trusted friends. Only a small percentage is abused by strangers.

Why Safe Sanctuaries?

Who needs to be involved with setting a policy?• Pastor(s) & staff• Key volunteers (teachers, leaders)• Parents• Board of Trustees• Administrative Council/Board

Four Parts to a Policy

• Recruitment/Screening• Supervision• Reporting• Responding

Screening• All workers (paid and volunteer) complete an

BACKGROUND SCREENING FORM.• Contact REFERENCES• Process BACKGROUND CHECK• Develop a RECORD KEEPING SYSTEM for forms,

checks, etc. • Must be active with the church at least 6 months

prior to supervising children/youth

Child Protection Package• $9.00 per check for United Methodist Insurance members • $12.50 per check for non-members

Instant Multi State Criminal and Multi State Sexual Predator Data Search

Instant Social Security Trace

 Child Protection Package Plus• $14.50 per check for United Methodist Insurance members• $18.00 per check for non-members

Above checks, plus

Motor Vehicle Report

Trak•1 Technology

REMEMBER: Background checks raise red flags but are only one layer of your implementation!

Supervision

• Provide TRAINING for staff & volunteers• 2 Adult Rule. There will be 2 unrelated adults

If this is not possible, there will be a roving teacher who moves amid the rooms during the program period.

Supervision

• All ministries should occur in OPEN VIEW. Window, half door or door shall remain open.

• No children will be left unsupervised.• REGISTRATION MATERIALS should be

collected for all activities & PERMISSION FORMS for transportation

Supervision• No person under the age of 18 shall

supervise younger children & those over 18 shall be at least 4 YEARS OLDER THAN THE CHILDREN.

• “Putting children in charge of children invites disaster.” Joy Melton. “Safe Sanctuaries.” Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 1998. page 32.

Reporting

• Abuse MUST be reported to the Kentucky Child Protection Hot Line at (877)597-2331, the Local CHFS Office or the State Police.

Reporting

“All clergy of The United Methodist Church are charged to maintain all confidences inviolate, including confessional confidences, except in the cases of suspected child abuse or neglect or in cases where mandatory reporting is required by civil law.”

The Book of Discipline, 2004. ¶341.5

Reporting

• When abuse is reported the worker shall immediately be removed from contact with children/youth.

• If the ACCUSED is CLERGY, OR THEIR FAMILY, the DS should be contacted immediately.

• Keep a WRITTEN RECORD of the event

Responding

• Quick• Compassionate• Unified• No cover ups

Responding• Contact your District Superintendent. • Appoint spokesperson (pastor). Enlist help of

Conference Communications Director.• Pastoral support available to all involved.

Insurance

• How much coverage do you have? What are the limits?

• Do you specifically have “SAM” insurance?• Who is covered/Who is not covered?

Incorporation

• In order to incorporate, the church must be in touch with a local attorney

• The attorney needs to contact Jody Curry and she will give the correct forms to complete. Jody can be reached at gjcurrylaw@aol.com

Insurance• Exactly what is covered—criminal

lawsuits/defendant until found guilty, innocent? Punitive damages are never covered.

• What do you do if there is an allegation?

Things to think about:

• Open hearts, Open minds, Open doors– What about ministering to a sex offender?

Here are some guidelines to effective minister to all

Ministering to a Registered Offender

1. Have a detailed conversation with the individual. Find out the facts of the offense, the sentence, the conditions of probation, the name of the probation/parole officer and contact information for the officer.

Ministering, con’t

• 2. Contact the probation/parole officer to verify the information received from the individual. Find out if probation restrictions would interfere with the individual being present on church property. Treat the probation officer as a reference and interview him/her as to the qualities of the individual.

Ministering, con’t

3. If you find that the individual has no probation restrictions related to participation at church, then have another meeting with him/her. Inform the individual that it is possible for him/her to participate in the congregation under these conditions:

Ministering, con’t.

• a. He/She may attend worship services, adult Sunday School, and other ministries only when accompanied by an adult “shepherd.”

• b. He/She must have the “shepherd” with him/her at all times

Ministering, con’t

• c. He/She must not enter areas of the church property that are used by children and youth, even if he/she is accompanied by the “shepherd.”

• d. He/She will not be accepted as a volunteer in any capacity that would provide opportunities for contact with children and youth.

Ministering, con’t.

• e. He/She will sign a participation covenant, along with the person acting as the “shepherd,” describing his/her commitment to uphold the mission of the church and all the specific conditions required of him/her by the congregation.

Ministering, con’t

• f. He/She will support the pastor and appropriate church leaders in sharing the facts of his/her participation with any and all who need to know.

• g. He/She will be asked to leave the congregation in the event any of these conditions are not followed

Things to think about:

• Cyber safety– Keeping our children safe with technology

– Here are some guidelines:

Cyber safety- Receive Permission to: • Post photos of participants on any websites or sending them

e-mail or cell phone messages or making videos for any use. • E-mailing, Instant Messaging (IM’ing), calling, texting, or

sending data to a child, youth, or vulnerable adult by computer, PDA, or cell phone (keep in mind "free" minutes and data plans vary tremendously even with the same carrier); and.

• The sharing of any full name or contact information.

Cyber safety- Never Post Information Online• If you communicate by e-mail, do not use “broadcast” e-mails.

Use the “Bcc” option (blind carbon copy) so that each recipient sees only his or her address when a message is received.

• Be cautious when transmitting easily identifiable information like event dates, times, locations, or participants.

• Limit what is communicated in electronic prayer requests.

Cyber Safety – Limit Communication• Conduct any communications in a professional manner.

(Even though you may be a sounding board for a person having a bad day, the reverse is not true.)

• Save all communications you have with children, youth, and vulnerable adults (i.e. instant messages (IMs), chat room conversations, e-mails, etc.). An electronic "paper trail" can be important

Cyber Safety – Limit Communication• If you are uneasy about any topic addressed in an e-mail or

an e-mail in general, send a blind carbon copy to a parent/guardian (if appropriate) or another trusted adult. Honor privacy, but not secrecy.

• If abuse is divulged electronically, follow standard reporting procedures.

Cyber Safety – Sharing Photos• Consider obtaining copyrights for any photo posted directly

on a conference ministry website or shared electronically. Keep in mind that copyright laws are not necessarily universal and can get rather complicated.

• When posting photos, refrain from using names and never use last names or identifiable information.

• Check photos for vulnerable/compromising situations and to make sure they uphold your mission. Check to make sure nametags are not distinguishable

Cyber Safety – Social Media• Set privacy settings to limit who can see your profile

otherwise people may still be able to view your full profile. • Restrict who can be your friend. It is prudent to use judgment

in accepting requests from youth. • Use higher level security features even if you have a

restricted profile (such as requiring your approval of all comments posted to your site.)

Cyber Safety – Social Media• Do not post anything to your social networking site that you

would not want attached to your resume or printed in the church newsletter or bulletin. (The same goes for blogs.)

• Remove or do not post inappropriate comments, photos, etc. • Encourage youth to follow these same guidelines